Rating Curve

one of the greatest litmus test levels out there. if you don't at least respect this level that's definitely a hit for my expectation of your tastes. simultaneously The early 2.0 level and the blueprint for the chaotic and emotional levels of late 2.1

the pocke video on this level says it better than i ever could but the elements i'll stress here is this isn't a contrarian thing for me (though i can be a contrarian) i sincerely think this level represents the song and especially its lyrics as good as it can, janky gameplay and copy pasting included

also probably worth mentioning that 2.0 really is the thing that makes this level tick, 1.9 sweetdude is often similarly maximalistic but is much closer to the hyper fantasy/another world template. the movement and more colors is absolutely essential

one of my fav gd memories will always be getting an art/gaming friend into gd and him beating this before clubstep after i showed it to him, it really clicked with him. just really beautiful how someone got a lot of appreciation out of it who doesn't as implicitly understand the whole story and series of influences it has

such an elegant and beautiful level, even thru the tropes of the era, really owns the tropes. one where the 1.9 influenced 2.0 style really goes far for the vibe

also forever The Level With This Song for sure. sorry mujigae

i've been following the impossible levels community since 2.0 so i think i can say with some certainty that this is the first impossible level really had the effort of a normal relatively high effort level put into it, and rather expectedly it's become one of the most famous ones, only a few steps behind stuff like silent clubstep

and people may be surprised to learn me, someone with veteran, arthouse, whatever tastes, really likes this level! the decoration is fairly cliche (see adamantium core for this theme done right imo) but passable, but the gameplay, especially with the grinding synth in the drop, just works, so over the top and terrifying, and so appealing sensorily, extreme wave spam really just feels like the right choice for this song. an idea first proposed with silent circles finally fulfilled, for better and worse

after the self-referential cathartic magnum opus of devin2003 (easily one of my favorite levels of all time), where could devin possibly go? what about his most bizarre level yet? while devin's definitely no stranger to abrasive song choices, gore/horror themes, and confounding gameplay, pacing, and art/sample choices, this one really goes above and beyond. what stands out the most to me about this level is the vast gap in effort put into different aspects, again not an uncommon devin trait but it really stands out here. compare the purple part with the flashing faces (probably my favorite part) with the short part before it, for a good example. or the incredible looking effect of the last ship. (let me be clear that this is a compliment, as it wouldn't really have its character without it.) mentioning other aspects are fairly redundant as they apply to a lot of devin's levels, but it really is cranked all up to 11, finding this level to have the joyful spontaneous horrifying hilarious fever nightmare of devin's style in its most potent form yet. it's enough to make even a seasoned veteran like me think... seriously, what the fuck?

i wrote about this one on tumblr!